Wānana Pū – Recollect
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or the characters.
A/N: The story is set somewhere in season 7. Thank you julieb716 for being the beta reader on this story. You really rock! As always I'm grateful for the collaboration! If there are still some grammar of spellings issues left, they're all mine.
Hopefully you'll enjoy reading it! I am totally amazed with the wonderful response with this story!
Chapter Sixteen
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TUESDAY – 12:16 AM – WILLIAMS RESIDENCE - MOANA - HONOLULU.
Steve didn't know how fast he got to Danny's house, but it was for sure a new record. He had gotten out of bed, not even bothered to put on some trousers; he was still wearing his black shorts. He only put on a light gray T-shirt and some flip-flops. Danny had cut off the call after Steve heard a loud stumbling noise. He redialed immediately, but there was no answer. He had called Chin on the way over. He lived closest to Danny. Steve had tried to call Danny's cell over and over, but it kept going straight to voice mail. His heart was beating so hard he could feel it in his throat and his stomach was doing flip flops. He was suddenly certain that something horrible happened, far worse than he could imagine.
Steve parked his truck in the empty driveway. Chin's motorcycle was already there parked in front of the house. Steve ran up to the front door. The entire house was dark. There only seemed to be a light coming from the kitchen. Danny and Chin must be in there. Somehow Steve hoped it was all for nothing and that it would be a story to tell over a couple of cold beers and they would all laugh at how Steve rushed over for no reason at all. Only, he couldn't shake the feeling that something horribly happened.
The front door was ajar; he guessed it was because Chin was already inside. He entered immediately and didn't even take the time to look around the house, hearing two voices' come from the kitchen.
"What's wrong with him, Uncle Chin?"
"I don't know, sweetie."
Steve burst into the kitchen. Steve's sudden entrance spooked Chin and Grace, who were squatted down next to Danny. Danny was sitting on the floor with his back against a kitchen cabinet. Beads of sweat covered his forehead. He looked exhausted and pale. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Danny was wearing gray shorts and his T-shirt was soaked in sweat. His legs were stretched out in front of him and his arms were hanging limply beside his body.
"Jesus Danny!" Steve exclaimed as he rushed towards him. Grace stepped aside to give Steve some room to kneel beside her father. Steve quickly took in the surroundings. The floor was wet from a glass of water that had been knocked over; the glass shattered on the ground, broken into a thousand pieces. Danny's smashed cell phone was next to him, the battery out of the back. No wonder he couldn't reach him, Steve thought to himself.
"I called for an ambulance, they're six minutes out." Chin reported. He had called immediately when he found Danny like this.
Steve checked Danny's heart rate. His friend didn't look good to him. He counted the rhythm in his head. His pulse was rapid. Steve stopped counting and glanced worriedly at Danny. "Hey, Danny, you with me?"
"Steve." Danny tried to speak, but it sounded weak. His glassy eyes peered at Steve.
"Danny, what's wrong? You hurt somewhere?" Steve asked concerned, as he couldn't see anything physically wrong other than his rapid heart rate and shallow breathing. What the hell was going on?
"M-My chest." Danny grunted as he placed his hand on the right side of his chest.
"Let me see," Steve demanded and Danny let go of his chest, allowing Steve to lift up his shirt. Danny winced in pain.
"Whoa brah, that ain't looking right." Chin and Steve looked at each other. There was a severe dark purple bruise on the right side of his torso. It was right below the height of his ribs. Another bruise crossed obliquely over his chest, matching where his seat belt had been. The force caused the bruising, but it wouldn't explain the other bruise.
Danny coughed as he had trouble breathing. A sharp jerking movement around the rib cage caused him to double over in pain. He grunted and moaned. His breathing became even shallower. His world began to spin and his vision turned black around the edges. Danny's eyes fluttered as he tried to stay awake. Steve noticed Danny had trouble staying conscious.
"HEY! Danny, keep your eyes open!" Steve shouted and he carefully shook Danny by his shoulders.
"I'm okay, really." Danny shook himself to stay conscious.
"No, you're not. We're going to the hospital," Steve decided. Danny obviously showed symptoms of shock, but Steve had no clue what caused it. And, he didn't want to worry Danny or his kids until he knew for sure what was going on.
"No, I don't want to scare the kids," Danny moaned as he tried to disagree; only he didn't have the energy to argue. He coughed and he grunted as a wave of pain rushed through his abdomen.
Steve exhaled deeply. "Damn it, I'll take him myself." He didn't want to wait any longer and it would be quicker than to wait for the ambulance.
"You sure that's a good idea? EMTs will be here any minute," Chin protested.
"We don't have a choice. He needs medical attention ASAP and the quickest way is bringing him in myself." He grabbed Danny underneath his arm. Chin did the same and together they started to pull Danny up from the floor.
"Argh! Don't!" Danny yelled out in pain. Sharp pain flared up, which seemed to radiate throughout his whole body. The movement caused pressure that just induced more pain. It sent a shock wave through his abdomen. Steve and Chin slowly lowered Danny back to the floor.
"Danno!" Grace exclaimed frightened, as she watched her father sag.
"Danny! Hey! Stay with us! Buddy, you hearing me?" Steve shouted at his best friend. He slapped Danny on his cheeks to attempt to keep him awake.
"M-oky," Danny slurred weakly as he tried to stay conscious.
"Okay, my ass," Steve muttered under his breath, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder to keep both Danny and himself grounded.
The EMTs pounded on the front door. Chin yelled that the door was open and that they were in the kitchen. They came rushing in with a stretcher and medical supplies.
"His breathing is shallow and he has a rapid heartbeat," Steve informed them. "He also has two pretty bad bruises on his chest."
Nodding their understanding, the EMTs laid Danny flat on his back. Danny grunted and moaned in pain, but he didn't say anything. One EMT slid an air mask over his mouth while the other inserted an IV line. They took Danny's vitals and cut his shirt open to assess his bruises. They placed a backboard underneath Danny by rolling him on his side first and then strapping him in place.
"All right, let's go." The medics lifted Danny up and placed the backboard on the stretcher. Danny was struggling to keep his eyes open, they felt really heavy.
"Grace?" Danny mumbled while he looked around for his daughter. "Stay with your brother," Danny instructed. He needed to make sure he wouldn't be left alone at home.
"Buddy, Charlie isn't here," Steve explained as only Grace was with him tonight. He patted his shoulder in sympathy.
"No, he is. Mom brought him over, she and Stan had to leave for a week," Grace spoke up. She had been watching silently in the background, while the medics were working on her father. Steve scratched the back of his head. Grace he could handle, but waking the little guy up in the middle of the night to rush off to a hospital was something else. Chin could see Steve's dilemma.
"Go with Danny, Steve," Chin offered. "I'll stay with them. Just keep me up to date." Chin squeezed Grace's shoulder, trying to reassure her.
"Thanks, Chin, I'll call." Steve promised as he jogged out the door towards the ambulance.
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TUESDAY – 12:27 AM – ER KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.
They were almost at the hospital. Danny had managed to stay conscious the whole ride, but with each passing second it became harder. He was exhausted, so damn tired. He tried to fight the darkness dancing around him, but he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. He allowed himself to close them for just a minute.
"No Danny c'mon, stay awake!" Steve shook Danny's shoulder as Danny closed his eyes. He was not about to let his friend pass out on him. He needed him to stay alert and awake.
"I'm trying." Danny's voice was weak and muffled because of the mask.
"No, you're not," Steve barked. "I need you to stay awake. Think about Grace and Charlie. Do this for them. You listening to me?"
Danny could feel he was in bad shape and Steve was pulling every card to keep him awake and he sure pulled the right one to bring up his kids. "I hate you so much." Danny groused as he tried to suppress a snort. He grimaced and grunted. Every movement caused a stabbing pain in his chest and abdomen.
"Good." Steve grinned. "At least I know you're hearing me. We're almost there, buddy." He was doing his best to comfort Danny, to reassure him that he would get help soon.
The ambulance pulled in front of King's Medical Center. A doctor pulled the doors open, impatiently waiting for his patient. The medics unloaded the stretcher and Steve followed them as they rushed inside. The medic started rattling off Danny's vitals as they moved.
"Detective Danny Williams, 39 years, multiple chest and abdomen bruises, tenuous B.P. showing symptoms of shock." Danny clenched onto the oxygen mask as his other hand tried to find the hand he had been holding onto the entire ride. Only Steve wasn't able to walk next to him since the doctor was busy with him. The doctor's white coat flapping as he hurried alongside the stretcher, he looked quickly at the nurse's station to get a room directive.
"Trauma 4 is clear," a nurse shouted from the nurse's station. The doctor wheeled the stretcher into the empty trauma room. They lifted the backboard off the stretcher and on the count of three they transferred Danny onto the gurney standing in the trauma room.
The doctor nodded to the paramedic. "Thank you we'll take him from here."
Steve had entered the trauma room on the paramedic's heels. The doctor looked at him questionably and asked, "And, who exactly are you? You need to leave. You cannot be in here right now."
Steve didn't move, merely crossing his arms and taking a hardened stance.
"Sir, you need to leave," a nurse reiterated the doctor's words.
"I'm Commander Steve McGarrett, 5-0, his partner and his medical proxy," Steve stubbornly replied. Then he softened as he added, "I need to be here. Please."
The doctor briefly looked up from working on Danny and he and the nurse exchanged glances. Stopping for only a second, the doctor nodded and added, "If I tell you to leave at any point, I expect you to follow my orders. But for now you can stay."
A male nurse had disconnected Danny from the portable heart monitor. He put small circular stickers with wires on Danny's chest and connected them to the machine standing in the room. "BP is 85 over 50," he shared with the doctor in charge.
"Detective? Can you tell me where it hurts?" the doctor tried, but Danny grunted and mumbled something under his breath, but they couldn't hear what he was trying to say. He was barely conscious. "Pupils are responsive," the doctor concluded after he shed a small light into Danny's eyes. Steve stared at his best friend; he looked even paler now that he was lying on the white sheet.
"Push 10 milligrams morphine I.V.," the doc exclaimed towards the nurse. He examined the bruising that was visible on Danny's torso. "Appears to be an impact bruise from a seatbelt. Did he have a car accident?"
"This afternoon. He was discharged," the male nurse remembered.
"Who the hell discharged him?" the doctor asked astonished.
Doctor Carlson, who treated Danny in the afternoon, entered the trauma room. "That would be me." He quickly grabbed a pair of gloves and slipped them on. He was definitely younger then the doctor who was already treating Danny.
The attending doctor looked up perplexed at his coworker. He put a lot of pressure on Danny's stomach. "Abdomen is soft, but tender, possible internal organ injury," the doctor stated while he merged all the given medical information. "Ultrasound the abdomen, please?" he directed Doctor Carlson.
Doctor Carlson followed the order. He applied gel onto the bruises before he scanned Danny's abdomen with the transducer. He stopped shortly when he noticed the long, vertical and relatively fresh scar going straight from Danny's chest to his abdomen. "Recent scar from abdominal surgery."
"What kind of surgery did he have?" The other doctor asked Steve since Danny had his eyes closed.
"Liver donation," Steve answered promptly. He felt helpless, standing in the room watching the doctors work on his friend, so he was glad to speak up. He got a bit startled by the sudden question though.
"His liver, that's perfect." The doctor sounded sarcastic. "I need his medical file STAT."
"There's free flowing fluid. Looks like there's blood in his abdomen." The younger doctor shared his medical findings. He showed the image from the ultrasound on Danny's abdomen.
The older doctor nodded. "All right let's move! Let's take him up for CT of his abdomen!"
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TUESDAY – 12:57 AM – ER KING'S MEDICAL CENTER- DOWNTOWN HONOLULU.
The two doctors left the room after Danny was taken for the CT scan. Steve had been told that it wouldn't be long before they would update him. So he paced back and forth with his hands on his hips through the corridor. Each minute felt like an eternity. There was nothing he could do and he hated that. Danny had said enough times that Steve was a control freak and in moments like this he was right. Steve couldn't handle the feeling of being out of control, being left alone with his insecurities. He tried to suppress every horrible thought that had been on his mind. He needed to stay positive, although it seemed almost impossible to do.
The older doctor, Doctor Lewis according to the name on his lab coat, walked back into the hallway the moment Steve was about to send a text to Chin. Steve quickly slid his phone back into his pocket and went up to the doctor. "Doc, what's going on? How is he?"
The doctor sighed deeply as he put both hands into his lab coat pockets. "Commander, the CT scan showed a laceration in Detective Williams' liver. It's quite severe and we tried to clot off that artery to stop the bleeding, but it's still bleeding into his abdomen. We're prepping him for emergency surgery."
Steve swallowed hard as he felt his heart sink into his stomach. "His liver?" He stared utterly distressed, with big eyes towards the doctor as he rubbed the back of his neck in concern. "Will he be all right? His liver is back at its normal size, right?"
"We'll do everything we can to repair his liver, but like I said, the laceration is quite severe and according to his medical file, he donated half his liver-"
Steve interrupted the doctor. "What are you trying to say?" He sounded desperate. Steve needed a straight answer and not some bullshit reassuring conversation. Somehow every possible scenario had crossed his mind, but only one compared with what the doc was trying to say. It would be a complete nightmare and with some reason Steve's gut told him he was right about it. Only this time he wished he wasn't. He felt every muscle in his body tense, bracing for what he already knew was coming.
"If we can't repair the liver, he might need a transplant."
-H50-
A/N: Thanks to everyone who has faved, followed this story or left a wonderful review this far. I'm really grateful for it. Also the guests who are reviewing, thank you!
Next chapter will be up soon. With more whump to come! Mahalo for your support, it's always lovely to hear what you think of it. Whether you love it or hate it, it's still good to know what you think of it.
***Uit nieuwsgierigheid... zijn er ook Nederlanders die dit verhaal lezen?***